1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a curved multi-view image display apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a curved multi-view image display apparatus that does not require viewer glasses and a control method thereof.
2. Related Art
With the advancement of electronic technologies, various kinds of electronic devices have been developed and distributed. For instance, there have been a number of developments in technologies related to display apparatuses such as a television (TV), which is one of the most used appliances in the home today.
Due to enhancements in performance, display apparatuses can display various types of content. In particular, in recent years, stereoscopic display systems that enable users to view three-dimensional (3D) contents have been developed and distributed.
The stereoscopic display system may be divided into a glasses type system or a non-glasses type system according to whether glasses for viewing a 3D image are used or not. In the glasses-type system, the viewer must wear specialized glasses in order to be able to view the 3D image, whereas the viewer is not required to wear glasses to view the 3D image in the non-glasses type.
An example of the glasses type system is a display apparatus that uses a shutter glasses method. In the shutter glasses method, the display output alternates between an image for the left-eye and an image for the right-eye. The shutter glasses, which are 3D glasses worn by the viewer, are controlled to open and close a left-eye shutter and a right-eye shutter in synchronization with the alternating display of the right-eye image and the left-eye image, such that when the right-eye image is displayed by the display apparatus the left-eye shutter of the glasses is closed. Similarly, when the left-eye image is displayed, the right-eye shutter of the glasses is closed. This alternating output of the left-eye image and the right-eye image allow the viewer to perceive a sense of depth in the viewing image.
The non-glasses type system may be referred to as an autostereoscopy system. 3D display apparatuses that utilize the non-glasses type method display a multi-view image that is optically divided and project light corresponding to images of different views onto the left eye and the right eye of the viewer using parallax barrier technology or a lenticular lens, thereby allowing the viewer to perceive a sense of depth.
When the non-glasses type system has N number of optical views, N number of multi-view images may be generated by performing rendering with respect to an input image and the rendered multi-view images can be provided. However, if the display apparatus has a curved surface (as opposed to a flat surface display), N number of multi-view images are generated and provided in the related-art rendering method, but the light corresponding to the images of different views are not exactly projected onto the left eye and the right eye of the viewer. Therefore, the viewer cannot view a clear image.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a related-art flat multi-view image display apparatus and a related-art curved multi-view image display apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 1, when there are five (5) optical views, the related-art flat multi-view image display apparatus projects light of images corresponding to the respective optical views, and thus a viewer has no inconvenience in viewing the image.
The curved multi-view image display apparatus may increase a sense of immersion of the viewer. However, when there are five (5) optical views as shown in FIG. 1, the curved multi-view image display apparatus may not exactly project the light of images corresponding to the respective optical views onto the viewer's left eye and right eye, and thus may not provide the viewer with a clear image.